Roddick shakes off dogged Hewitt

LONDON (Reuters) - Sixth seed Andy Roddick brought former champion Lleyton Hewitt''s tenacious Wimbledon run to an end on Wednesday with an energy-sapping 6-3 6-7 7-6 4-6 6-4 quarter-final victory.

Hewitt, showing the determination and guts which helped him to the title here in 2002, refused to lie down, twice coming from a set down before the 26-year-old American finally ended his challenge.

"I think there''s a lot of respect there, we used to get into it a bit when we were younger. I think we''ve earned each other''s respect," Roddick said in a courtside interview.

"Now we''re just a couple of old married dudes, maybe we''ve grown up a little bit."

Roddick looked on course for a straightforward victory after taking the opening set in 27 minutes, but Hewitt -- roared on by the green and gold clad Fanatics on a sun-kissed Court One -- saved three set points in the second set tiebreak before leveling the match 12-10.

Roddick restored his lead with a 7-1 win in the third set tiebreak but again Hewitt, who at one point whacked his left thigh with racket in an attempt to shake off a niggle, came back to take it to a decider.

The American, a two-time finalist here, made the crucial break in game nine of the decider and held serve when Hewitt dumped a forehand volley long to claim victory after a three hour 50 minute shootout.

He will play British third seed Andy Murray for a place in Sunday''s final.

(Editing by Miles Evans)